May Be Details
by Haroku
Summary: Of course Guy would notice all the little changes in Luke, but maybe he was just thinking too deeply about the matter. Or maybe not. They were just details, after all. Guy/Asch, Guy/Luke, Ending spoilers


Title: May Be Details  
Rating: T  
Summary: Of course Guy would notice all the little changes in Luke, but maybe he was just thinking too deeply about the matter. Or maybe not. They were just details, after all.  
Warning: OOCness, ending spoilers, mass confusion, crazy stalkerish habits, identity bending

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of the Abyss or any of its characters in anyway. I only write to entertain others and for my own strange, twisted, yet lovable amusement. (If I owned, Tear would have died by the miasma. And Guy and Luke would live together and share one bed.)

A/N: I don't know why I haven't written something about the ending of the game D: Anyways, while I ponder this some more, please enjoy!

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_May Be Details_

"Let others sit around and tell stories at his grave, but I won't be joining them. He said he'd come back, so I'm waiting until he keeps his promise."

Eyes turned to regard Guy, the swordsman only staring out into the nighttime field with heavy blues of his own. It was no secret that out of all of them, Guy had protested Luke's Coming of Age ceremony the most. He had fought with the Duke, the King, the Emperor, and anyone else that was willing to fight and carry on with the ceremony. It had been a grand chaos over the past few days and in the end, Guy had stormed out of the Fabre manor, out of Baticul, and out of Kimlasca, raging.

That had been four days ago.

Tear only nodded numbly, getting up from her perch on the rock. And as they turned to leave the valley, soft footsteps, crunching the flowers and grass caught her ears. She turned, blue eyes shooting wide at the sight in the distance.

"Tear?" Guy stopped as well, unable to move and frozen stiff.

As each member turned around, the deathly silence of shock could be undisturbed. Not even the sounds of a wispy breath could be heard as Tear stumbled forward, shaking and trembling all over. Her eyes shook with each step, hands pressed tightly against her chest, and they refused to blink, like the sight would disappear if she did. The wind stung her eyes, drawing forth tears brimming in her blue eyes.

"Why? Are you here…"

The flash of red was impossible to miss, green eyes slightly glassy but smiling. "Because you can see Hod from here. And…because I made a promise."

Tear collapsed, hair falling over her face.

"Tear!!" cried out the others, alarmed. Natalia was the first one to reach her, kneeling to make sure that she was all right.

"Are you okay, Tear?" asked Natalia, concerned and yet shaking violently herself.

While Anise and Natalia tended to Tear, who could only dumbly sit in the grass, crying and mumbling, Guy took a step forward, blues staring into greens. Slowly, _slowly_, the blond clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"……You—"

"I'm back. Like I promised."

Guy did not gain the chance to reply, Tear having stood up and subtly pushing him away. He moved aside, studying Luke with careful eyes. The boy stood tall, same height as before, but carried himself in a far more graceful manner than before. There was a pride that shone in his aura as he smiled awkwardly, as though unused to the curve of his lips. The flowing hair of fire hung, long and every bit as beautiful as before he had cut it, only swaying in the breeze to reveal the hilt of his sword poking out from behind his back.

Luke was okay.

Luke was alive.

Luke was _back._

"Luke," breathed Tear, eyes still watery as she threw her arms around him, not caring what the others would think.

"Whoa, this is a new side of you, Tear," Luke laughed softly, wrapping an arm around her to return the embrace. His shoulder grew wet from her tears.

"Idiot," she muttered as she pulled back away from him.

The two were separated, however, by Anise, the younger girl flinging herself into Luke's arms, bawling and yelling and pounding her fists into his chest before falling into his arms all together, sobbing. "Luuuuke!" she wailed while the teen hugged her with a small smile. "You're really back! You're really alive and okay! You're not going anywhere anymore, right!?"

"I'm really back, Anise. And no, I'm not going anywhere. This is where I belong."

Anise smiled brightly at him through her tears, cheeks wet, "Good!"

Luke was knocked back by Natalia next, the princess of Kimlasca in a similar state. She wept, hugging him so tightly that Luke coughed. But nevertheless, he held her as well. A dainty hand slapped his shoulder as she scolded him. But the anger was short lived and soon enough, she was squeezing him in another tight hug as though afraid that he would disappear.

"Luke! I'm so glad you came back!"

"I'm glad, too, Natalia."

Jade stepped forward, hand held out. Luke quirked a brow before taking it, smiling at the Colonel who only gave it a firm shake.

"I am more than just relieved to see that you came back."

"Thank you, Jade."

When their hands dropped back to their respective sides, Luke turned to Guy who continued to stand in his spot, unmoving. The now long haired redhead scratched the back of his head, giving him another awkward smile.

"Guy."

Eyes turned expectantly on him, everyone in the group anticipating a grand greeting from the former servant. He had been disheartened only for a week after Luke's supposed death, but cheered up immediately afterwards, promising to wait for Luke. And now that he was here…

"It-…It's good to have you back," he finally spoke, patting Luke's arm and letting a small smile curl his lips upward. But the smile never reached his eyes. And soon enough, the attention turned back to Luke who was laughing and smiling in the midst of everyone. It seemed that no one could stop the flow of tears from the girls and Guy swore that he saw Jade's glasses fog up for the briefest of moments.

Only one thought relayed on their minds: It was good to have Luke back.

-

Or so that was what Guy would have liked to think.

No matter how he looked at the reborn redhead, Guy could not wrap his head around the enigmatic boy. It had been a week since Luke's return. Currently, he was being tackled into the grass by Mieu and Anise, the two singing in joy and Luke just laughing without a care in the world. (Everyone had absolutely refused to leave the young noble alone, escorting him back to the Fabre manor and staying put.)

That was another thing. Before the Eldrant, Luke rarely laughed. He would smile, snicker, and pout, but the teen had stopped laughing so much along the way. And _of course_, Guy would notice this. He knew everything about Luke. Spending seven years with the boy had taught him nearly everything there was to know about Luke, from his habits to his fears. He even prided himself on knowing more about Luke than his own parents. It was never seen as unusual. It was more natural than anything else. That he would know the most about Luke, because he did. Guy just knew.

So _of course_, he would notice the minuscule changes that anyone who wasn't him would not have been able to.

For example, when sleeping, Luke would lie totally flat, never curling up into a ball or just laying sprawled across the covers like he normally did on a daily basis. No, Guy wasn't stalking him. He was just watching over the boy to make sure, having done it since the boy had returned—or rather, was born. It was a habit that he was unable to break and did not want to break.

Or, he stood with his arms crossed instead of on his hip when annoyed. When irritated, Luke normally held his hip in a loose grip, glaring with his brows. Now, Luke glared with his eyes, with his nose wrinkled in disgust, with his jaw clenched, with his mouth downturned into a small snarl, with his fingers gripping his biceps, and with his back pulled taut. It was slightly disturbing for the blond, and he looked away after a few moments. He couldn't even remember what had upset the teen.

When eating, occasionally, he would hold the fork in his right hand. Luke was left-handed. He would grasp other items with his right hand as well, pens, papers, books, clothes. And despite unsheathing his sword with his left hand, Guy also noted that when sparring, Luke gripped the sword in his right. And when he held it in his left, his grip was awkward, his swings too wide, his speed reduced, his strength cut, and his balance off.

Maybe Guy was looking into the matter too much. Maybe he could just chalk everything up to a miracle; a gift from Lorelei himself. Maybe he should have just been grateful and overjoyed with having his best friend back.

But maybe he didn't have his best friend back.

Because Luke would never act like everything was normal. He wouldn't indulge Natalia in talks about their engagement and then turn and act all shy and awkward around Tear. He would never do these things. But mostly, Luke would never do all those things and then wait to get Guy alone or into an empty room just to push him up against a wall and kiss him until his lips bruise.

The first time, it had been a great shock to Guy, his eyes widening in surprise as Luke roughly grabbed his upper arm, fingers digging painfully into his skin. Before he could even protest, Luke threw them into an empty room of the Fabre manor and pushed Guy up against the doors, never minding that the handles of the door were jamming into his lower back. Luke kissed him on the lips, so hard and so demanding that Guy felt as though he were suffocating. And when their bodies collided awkwardly, painfully, hips crashing and chests bumping, not fitting together in any way, Guy cringed. Luke only nipped at his bare throat, sharp and leaving a myriad of red marks and imprints of his perfect teeth that had Guy gasping.

And all Guy could think was that he didn't taste the same.

-

It made sense that Luke would know. That Luke would know that Guy just _had to know_ because it was impossible for him _not_ to. So when Luke cornered him one day in his own room, Guy wasn't surprised. He calmly regarded the redhead with weary azure eyes.

Luke only stood with a smirk, condescending as he stated, cutting straight to the chase, "You haven't called me 'Luke' even once since I got back."

Another little difference that Guy had picked up on. After cutting his hair, Luke no longer just spouted his thoughts rudely. He hesitated more with his words and fumbled a lot. It was endearing. And just another little trait that only Guy could have known about.

Guy let out a breath, answering evenly, "That's because you're not him. You're not Luke."

"Yes, I am."

"You're not _my_ Luke."

The quiet statement made Luke stare at Guy with narrowed eyes, studying him silently as he crossed his arms. Guy remained unmoving, hardly caring whether the boy was undressing him with his eyes or murdering him in a painfully gruesome way in order to keep his secret just that.

"No, I guess I'm not," he finally said utterly too soft and looking entirely too disappointed.

Guy narrowed his eyes, confusion knitting his brows, "Why are you pretending to be Luke?"

This Luke snorted, reclaiming his haughty attitude as he said, "It's not like I wanna pretend to be this idiot replica. It fucking hurts my face to have to smile and laugh so damn much. But it's easier to be the dreck than come back as myself."

"_Why_? It's not as if everyone wouldn't accept you, Asch."

The name felt like ashes in his mouth, drying his throat. Fitting for a name that was meant to signify the ashes of the sacred flame, right?

"You wouldn't."

The declaration was spoken just as quietly as Guy's had been, and a drop of bitter lining his words. The meaning was clear. So clear and vivid that it actually hurt. Guy blinked, swallowing slowly. He didn't say anything, neither denying nor confirming the other's mute question. His eyes never left the redhead's face, taking in every aspect and detail and yet only being able to think that this wasn't Luke. A hand came up to rub at his face, smooshing his nose and cheek into distort.

Wordlessly, Asch slipped over to him, hands on the sides of the armrests on his chair. Leaning forward until their noses brushed, the redhead reiterated slowly, affirming his statement, "You wouldn't," and closed the gap between their lips, hard and demanding. And desperate.

And after a few seconds, Guy kissed back with just as much desperation as Asch, only thinking that this wasn't Luke. Luke didn't taste like this whenever they kissed. This wasn't Luke. Luke never attacked his throat and aggressively tugged at his clothes. This wasn't Luke. Luke didn't bruise his lips and give such sharp nips and bites down his chest. No, this wasn't Luke at all. There were too many habits, blunders, and details that only Guy knew that were different. Of course, Guy just knew. Because they were just details.

He wasn't Luke.

He was Asch.

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End.

A/N: If the tenses randomly change, I'M SORRY! I was writing in present before this and I couldn't get rid of the stupid little present tense bug. Plus, it's not proofread so :D

Anyways, I think I like this, and I think I don't. It's confusing.

Thank you for reading and please review if you enjoyed? :still confused:


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